We open on an undulating meadow: The reeds sway in the wind, dancing to a tune lost on human (or elven) ears. A creek bisects the plain, its ripples and gurgles in harmony with the chirps and squeaks of nearby wildlife. In the distance, two figures mosey down a well-trodden road alongside the creek. We zoom in on the dots. One is colorful and jaunty, springing along like a sprite in the shadow of the larger, hulking figure. The latter brandishes a sword the approximate length of his companion and a scowl that could stop a cavalry unit in its tracks.
We encounter the pair—the whimsical wanderer and the brutish bruiser—on a slow day between towns. They stop next to the creek for a rest, where we can behold the timeless glory of fantasy’s favorite odd couple: a bard and a barbarian.
Bards and barbarians occupy have played roles in any number of fantasy stories. Whenever I encounter such a duo—the tough, stone-faced barbarian and the outgoing-slash-annoying bard—I smile in delight. What makes these unlikely compadres so enticing?
There’s obviously a delectable humor lurking in the space between a grim-faced barbarian and a flamboyant bard. Like magnets, they attract and/or repel, depending on their orientation in a given moment. Those times when they pull together, when they work together to achieve a goal that requires both of their skill sets, can serve as the basis for some of the most intriguing friendships and partnerships in fantasy.
Like both archetypes in this timeless pairing, though, I think there’s a lot more going on beneath the surface. I think there’s a bit of bard and a bit of barbarian in all of us. Humans exist on any number of spectrums—gender, neurodiversity, physical ability, etc.—and these characters are two extremes on a spectrum of personality, skill, and general outlook. They are a duality made tangible within a fiction world, and as such, they can teach us a lot about ourselves.
Who springs to mind first when you imagine a bard and barbarian? It’s always Geralt and Jaskier for me, ever the mismatched pair. In many ways, they’re the quintessential embodiment of the trope. Geralt is a man of few words (and those few words are usually “ugh” or “fuck”). He tries to avoid showing emotion or attachment, masking his deeper feelings with gruff stoicism or cynicism. He can make anyone’s day very, very bad—even worse if he has a reason to use his swords. Jaskier, meanwhile, can charm anyone with his wiles and his tunes. He also has the ability to reframe and exaggerate Geralt’s adventures, transforming them into the medieval fantasy equivalent of a Billboard Hot 100 hit.
Fans of Critical Role and The Legend of Vox Machina might argue that Scanlan Shorthalt and Grog Strongjaw are the best example of this character pairing, taking Geralt and Jaskier’s dynamic to a whole new level. In the animated series, these two represent the furthest extremes of their tropes. Scanlan beds married women using his seductive bardic wiles while Grog makes thick-skulled quips from his… thick skull, and their bond is so strong not even death can separate them.
Meanwhile, no article exploring bard-barbarian partnerships would be complete without a mention of Holga Kilgore (Michelle Rodriguez) and Edgin Davis (Chris Pine) of Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. The movie weaves their history of camaraderie into the fabric of their backstories to craft two characters that go far deeper than simple silhouettes, and their relationships is ultimately one of the great strengths of the film.
These are a few of my all-time favorite bard and barbarian duos, but today, I want to talk about a specific pair that changes the blueprint for this tried-and-true formula.
Howard Andrew Jones writes a bard-barbarian duo to dazzling effect in his book Lord of a Shattered Land. I was deeply saddened to learn that Jones had passed away on January 15, 2025; the news of his passing motivated me to write this piece. I read Lord of a Shattered Land last year and found myself captivated by the friendship between the protagonist, Hanuvar, and his companion Antires.
Hanuvar Cabelan seeks to reunite the scattered remains of his people. He’s a former general of Volanus, a city-state utterly destroyed by the Dervan Empire. Hanuvar travels the land in search of members of the Volani diaspora. While Hanuvar is strong and powerful (a barbarian, indeed), he is also caring and cultured. Howard Andrew Jones writes him as a classic barbarian with a twist. Hanuvar is equally at home among elites and their verbal sparring as he is among the warriors and their full-on brawling.
Buy the Book
Lord of a Shattered Land
Partway through the novel, Antires joins Hanuvar. The Herrenian writes plays and immediately sees the narrative potential of Hanuvar’s quest. He accompanies Hanuvar to document their travels and provide context to the reader.
The pair’s journey hits many of the classic bard-barbarian beats. In one particularly memorable chapter, Hanuvar must rescue Antires, pulling him out of an enchanted and charmed state, cast on him by a nefarious religious sect who dwell in the mountains. Bards, ever the charmers, can easily fall prey to the wiles of others if they aren’t careful.
The real glory of the Hanuvar/Antires relationship is the essence of any good bard-barbarian duo: joyful camaraderie.
In a separate vignette, Hanuvar shovels animal dung for a circus. The pair hides among the performers in order to travel in secret, lest Hanuvar be identified. Antires notes Hanuvar’s seeming fall from grace—once a legendary general, now shovelling poo. Hanuvar, comparing his current circumstances with his life as a leader and a statesman, spouts a quip in return: “This is cleaner work.”
In this exchange and throughout the story, we see the joyful interplay of two archetypes. Their archetypal actions soon blend into a mish-mash of individual character moments. Howard Andrew Jones shows us a bard and barbarian, each willing to step out of his respective circle of this particular Venn diagram and explore the space between or around it.
It might be reductive of me to say that Hanuvar and Antires are solely responsible for the other’s growth. A character is always so much more than his or her travelling companion. And yet we must acknowledge the influence of those around us and how their gravitational pull impacts our own orbit. Lord of a Shattered Land shows us the gentler side of a barbarian. Are we seeing Hanuvar this way—as a man who cares deeply for his people and, in one instance, for an old elephant companion—simply because we’re seeing him through Antires’ telling of their adventures? Or is Antires at least partly responsible for bringing out this lighter side of Hanuvar?
I don’t have the answer, nor do I think seeking it is especially important. Instead, I’m content to celebrate Jones’ achievement in breathing new life into a time-tested fantasy trope. Where many modern takes on the bard and barbarian might retread well-explored ground (which is fine), Hanuvar and Antires bring it to new places. The humor between the two doesn’t stem from the fact that they are mismatched in size and skill; it comes from a genuine friendship and their resulting interactions. It offers a different perspective on what otherwise might be a cliché, even while one character remains a hulking, deadly warrior and the other is a silver-tongued devil who couldn’t lift even half the weight of his comrade’s sword.
As always, though, I want to hear from you! Have you read Lord of a Shattered Land or the other books in the Chronicles of Hanuvar series? Who are your favorite bard and barbarian duos? Let me know in the comments.
The Legend of Vox Machina is one of my favorite animated series so I just have to go with that.
My first thought:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKdohNSnLtw
I think Fritz Leiber’s Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser did a lot to establish and popularize this dynamic, so I have to start with those two. Ladyhawke features a similar dynamic between Etienne of Navarre (Rutger Hauer) and Phillipe Gaston, aka “Mouse” (Matthew Broderick). And finally, I have to give a shout out to Martin the Warrior and Gonff the Mousethief from Mossflower in the Redwall series!
Mouse themes abound, apparently!
Does Xena count as a barbarian? ‘Cause she wouldn’t have been the same without Gabrielle’s influence.
I think so; she sure has Rage and Gabrielle is her polar opposite. They were the first that came to mind for me.
Richard Lionheart and Blondel, perhaps?
Richard Lionheart was an accomplished bard himself.
True!
Donkey isn’t *exactly* a bard, but Shrek and Donkey have the same feel to me as the others mentioned. :)
I know he’s not a barbarian, but all I could think of while reading this is brave, brave Sir Robin and his unnamed minstrels in Holy Grail.
Druss and Sieben, obviously.
it saddens me how quickly the work of David Gemmell has been forgotten.
In all honesty this is merely one possible permutation of the most Primordial of buddy pairings, the very bedrock of ‘Those two guys’ dynamics, the Ur-duo:
There must always be a Big Guy and a little guy.
That being said, Geralt and Jaskier all the way (Though honourable mention to Holga & Edgin for being Mum & Dad without actually having a Thing for each other: I look forward to seeing if some future film puts them through a ‘Meet the Parents’ sort of scenario with one or more of their found family*).
*Bonus points if this plays out whilst the hypothetical GM discretely does their best to point out that this digression is Fun, but c’mon people, your friend put together a whole darned Epic and you’re playing a Romantic Comedy in the role of quirky in-laws?!?
Also, I’ve been trying to work out what Geralt qualifies as in DnD terms and – unless he’s some sort of prestige class or multiple choice option, I’d actually put my money on ‘Ranger’ with Roach as his animal companion.
Gigamesh and Enkidu, big guy and bigger guy. But that is a civilized and uncivilized or king and wild-man pairing.
Terry Pratchett’s “The Last Hero” pairs a nameless bard with a horde of (very) old barbarians. As always, hilarious, and a wonderful deconstruction of the barbarian/bard relationship.
I love the Last Hero! I even made a character in Elder Scrolls Online as Cohen the Barbarian
Thanks for the food for thought. I had not engaged this trope and its possibilities for creating with and riffing on are exciting.
Xena and Gabrielle definitely count for this, though Gabrielle doesn’t sing much and eventually turns into a warrior. Another pairing is Hal and Falstaff from Shakespeare…not exactly fantasy but I’ve always thought the “warrior” and “drunken singer” archetype started there.
Except that Xena is from Amphipolis, so she’s Greek, and therefore not a barbarian as the Greeks defined it. Then again, they call her the Warrior Princess even though she isn’t royalty.
Since the Amazons of myth are based on nomadic peoples from Asia Minor or thereabouts, I suppose they would qualify as barbarians, and Gabrielle becomes an Amazon by adoption into the tribe.
As for Falstaff, he’s a knight, so technically he and Hal are both warriors. As I recall, Sir John spends most of H4 Part 2 on the battlefield, although avoiding battle as much as he can (since the better part of valor is discretion, of course). I also don’t recall him singing much, just rattling off nonstop blarney and creative insults.
Gotrek & Felix from the Black Library, of Warhamner Fantasy.
The worst ‘pairing’ may have been the Bard Leslac vs. Tarma and Kethry in the Mercedes Lackey series. Not only did he constantly hit on Tarma, an ace woman with no interest, but his songs encouraged people to come to the pair for free rescues, rather than letting them do the paid work they preferred.
Not exactly a barbarian, but Brave Sir Robin did have minstrels… for a while.
Vanyel and Stefan in The Last Herald-Mage trilogy. Both of them have traits of both archetypes. Stefan is quite literally a Bard, and Vanyel also has the Bardic Gift. Vanyel, as a Herald and Mage, is a fighter and can certainly be thick-headed at times. The same can also be said for Stefan, although it’s more subtle.